3 wheelers and other strange vehicles

[Cartman]

One thing I remember about motors years ago is that you used to see some real odd things, which you don't get now. One I recollect from being a kid in the 60s was the Bond Minicar, a bloke across the road from us had one. It had a motor bike engine which drove the single front wheel by a chain and you could kick start it under the bonnet. Another one was the Scammell Scarab which was a small, again 3 wheel tractor unit with a dome shaped front. British Railways used them in goods yards for deliveries and Radcliffe goods yard had a few.

Also the Bond Bug, usually bright orange, and the occasional Beach buggy, which were VW Beetle based.

Anyone else remember any more?

[Sam Tyler]

One of the more regular three-wheelers that we used to see was the light blue Invacar as there was a service centre not too far from us. I say "service centre" but it was best described as a large wooden shed that had a number of mechanics working on them in there.

A neighbour of ours had three of those Bond three-wheelers: one in his shed in bits for parts, one in his back garden as a greenhouse(!), and one as his daily transport. He was one of the 'old school' that could peer over the top of his half-moon glasses to look at a bolt and know from sight whether it was AF, Whitworth or BSF thread. He had no idea of metric though.

Another neighbour had a Reliant Regal that they later replaced with a Reliant Robin. As a kid I was driven into town in the Regal and I can honestly say I've never had such a traumatic journey since. The car was horrible bouncing all over the road, the rear seats had a vinyl covered cushion about 1" thick over a moulded fibreglass bench, and the driving was just diabolical. I've never been in one since.

Sam.

[Cartman]

The Invacar was made by AC Cars of Thames Ditton and it was developed from a 3 wheeler they made in the 50s called the AC Petite. They had a diverse range of products, also making the very powerful Cobra sports car as well as some diesel railcars for British Railways.

3 wheelers seemed to be a result if the petrol shortage caused by the Suez crisis in 1956 and led to the development of the Mini, as Leonard Lord, chairman of BMC, didn't like them and got Alec Issigonis to design a proper miniature car.

[Arthur Pringle]

Those pale blue Invacars were once a common sight, this Mike Leigh film shows one in quite a lot of detail-

[Sam Tyler]

And on the subject of Bond Bugs, here is a post I made in the Youtube Finds thread:

May 26, 2019 20:30:32 GMT Sam Tyler said:

This video appeared in the 'recommended' clips as I loaded up YouTube earlier.

Whoever thought of putting a Hayabusa engine into a Bond Bug and then adding turbo etc must be absolutely barking.

For those unaware, a Hayabusa is a 1300cc Suzuki bike with 173hp as stock and with top speed limited to 186mph.



I'd like a fiver for every time the presenter says "Oh my God!"

Sam.

[D.C. Burtonshaw]

I could probably think of a few more besides, but I remember the Dartford Tunnel had a Scammel Scarab breakdown truck in white. Kept for years by the authorities as it had the best turning circle for under the tunnel to get broken down vehicles out. Had a big crane at the front too and I remember seeing its front in the garage several hundred yards from the Toll Booths when in the back of my dads car. We used to visit my Grandparents in Cranbrook Kent.

I also remember electric Milk Floats, and we had 3 wheeled Unigate one round my area as well as the Co Op who seemed to prefer the 4 wheeled ones.

Also the electric handcarts that the Post Office used in some areas (mine had the odd one still into about 1990), where a postman on foot controlled and steered with a handle in front of it, walking with the cart behind him. The cart had its own electric motor and even a number plate. At walking pace they must have caused some bother to Motorists behind them!

The local council bin lorries were interesting things years ago, our little slip road outside the house was wide enough for the small Karrier Bantam trucks to come up. In those days the refuse trucks didn't have the "cruncher/churner" in the back and the dustman, carried your houses metal dustbin to it and tipped it over into the back of the truck after the covers of the load were lifted off. Load covers were then replaced (probably to keep the smell down) and that was it. The Bantam truck still had surprisingly 50's styling and was still in production till 1979 when Chrysler UK was sold to Peugeot of France. A few I believe were kept back unregistered sometime before being registered on 1981/82 X plates, the cab style when back to about 1948/49 I believe!

Karrier were originally taken over by the Rootes group in 1934, then moved production to the Commer factory in Bedfordshire. So my local council was supporting local industry! The slightly bigger dustcarts were Shelvoke and Drewery's with split windscreens.

And Breakdown trucks meant for Broken down buses which were often converted buses with a new crane on the back and the original bus front and cab. They were operated by the bus companies and sometimes a previous bus which saw service with them.

Then there were bus chassis being delivered by road to the bus builders by a long suffering driver out in the open with his scarf and goggles on, on trade plates. I remember seeing that on car journeys in the 70's.

[Cartman]

Yes, I remember the converted buses into breakdown wagons. Burys was a 1949 double decker cut down with a crane on the back and it was running well into the 80s. 

Another strange car was the Austin Metropolitan, which was the nearest possible equivalent to a road usable dodgem car. They were two colours and had the spare wheel on the back. I've seen one which turned up at a garage near me in 1977 when I was learning to drive, I remember being fascinated with it and wondering what it was, I can even remember the registration number which was YYD 416!

Wonder if its still about?

[D.C. Burtonshaw]

According to DVLA YYD 416 was transferred to a 1982 Jaguar XJ6 and still registered to it, although the Jag doesn't seem to have been on the road since January 1997.

[Gene Hunt]

Sadly Carty, as Gerry says. YYD416 appears to have found itself on a 1982 Green Jaguar XJ 4.2 which only lasted until  January 1997.

Here's a Metropolitan for anyone who hasn't seen one.

[Cartman]

Cheers Gene, they do look like a fairground ride don't they! It was actually an American design by Nash which was made by Austin, initially for export to the USA only, they went on sale in Britain after 1957 but I don't think they were good sellers. The engine was the 1500 cc B series from the Austin Cambridge.

Another truck design which was kept in production for years was the BMC FG type, which had the cab doors angled backwards, the idea being that you didn't have to step directly into the road when stopping for deliveries. They were quite often used as bread vans and were still made into the late 70s